Israel-based Tower Semiconductor (TSEM) reported earnings per share of $0.24 today, along with a profit of $20.9 million for the second quarter of the year.
The news sent the company’s stock of 11% in pre-market trading from a prior close of $18.44.
Earnings-per-share were adjusted for non-recurring costs and amortization costs.
Although the Tower Semiconductor company is headquartered in Migdal Haemeq, Israel, the firm also has fabrication facilities in Newport Beach, California and San Antonio, Texas.
Contracts inked with large semiconductor companies like Samsung, Texas Instruments and Panasonic involve Tower Semiconductor and a fully owned U.S. subsidiary TowerJazz offering analog integrated circuits for chips.
For example, a three year contract with Panasonic drew a lot of interest this past March.
“The TPSCo partnership has brought together two leaders – Panasonic, an acknowledged analog components and systems leader, and TowerJazz, a recognized analog foundry leader- having created a company that serves and continues to grow the analog foundry space as no other existing single foundry can,” said TowerJazz CEO and TPSCo Chairman Russell Ellwanger in a press statement March 26. “During the past five years, we have continued to grow in respect for the technical capability and appreciation for the business acumen and can-do attitude of our Panasonic partner. Our TPSCo employee base has strong technical expertise and pristine operational execution, with over 180 foundry customers have been introduced into TPSCo, which is presently realizing a strong ramp in 300mm state of the art RF, power management and CMOS imaging flows. This has been and continues to be a winning equation for all involved – TowerJazz, PSCS, TPSCo and our very important customers.”
Even without the pre-market spike, Tower Semiconductor has been trading up a good bit from values earlier in the year and near the end of 2018 when the company’s equity plummeted from a high of over $20 in September down to under $14 at the end of October. The stock then seemed to crawl sideways until February of this year, when it hit a nearly $19 high.
The current context of TSEM’s stock action involves United States semiconductor companies wrangling over the legality of contract with Chinese telecom provider Huawei. Take a look at how Tower Semiconductor benefits from global trade tensions and whether changes to supply chains will push this equity further up.
